Acadia fall sends 2 climbers to hospital

BAR HARBOR, Maine (AP) — A broken rope was to blame for the injury of three climbers on a 25-foot-high rock face and a complicated rescue at Acadia National Park, rangers said Monday.

LeslieAnn Dykes

In this Sunday, June 16, 2013 photo released by Acadia National Park, a climber is lifted during a rescue after three were injured in a climbing accident at the rock face at Otter Cliffs in Acadia National Park near Bar Harbor, Maine. Ranger Will Overton said two men tumbled from the rock face, and one or both landed on a third climber at the bottom. (AP Photo/Acadia National Park, LeslieAnn Dykes)

In this Sunday, June 16, 2013 photo released by Acadia National Park, a climber is lifted during a rescue after three were injured in a climbing accident at the rock face at Otter Cliffs in Acadia National Park near Bar Harbor, Maine. Ranger Will Overton said two men tumbled from the rock face, and one or both landed on a third climber at the bottom. (AP Photo/Acadia National Park, LeslieAnn Dykes)

Two men tumbled from the rock face at Otter Cliff, and one of them landed on a third climber at the bottom of the cliff Sunday morning, rangers said.

A man and a woman who were clients of Acadia Mountain Guides were released from a hospital Monday, a day after being taken away in ambulances, said company owner Jon Tierney.

The episode that unfolded at Otter Cliff led to a "time-consuming and difficult" rescue that involved park rangers, Mount Desert Island Fire and Rescue, the Coast Guard and the Bar Harbor Police Department, said Will Overton, a ranger.

It took roughly four hours to get the victims hoisted in litters to the top of the cliff.

Both the company and rangers were investigating.

It's clear that a rope broke, but the company wants to know why. "The systems were technically sound," Tierney said. "They were following industry standards."